The Process of Shattering
by Parachutingkitten
Summary: The story centers around Circuit, Zane and Pixal's daughter at age 17 and Daniel, Kai and Skylor's Son at age 18 trying to work out their place in life and get through Senior year. One thing: Daniel doesn't know about the whole "ninja" thing.
1. Chapter 1

Ice doesn't break. It shatters. Bursts as tiny fractures break out in all directions. I worry about that sometimes. About shattering one day and letting everything loose. That day feels so close sometimes. So… very close.

"You're makeup looks really nice tonight, Sierra!"

I looked up from my phone and smiled at Jane. No duh, it's programmed. It's literally the exact same as every other night. "Thanks! Yours too! You ready for tonight?"

She shook out her arms nervously. "Opening night is always a little nerve racking!"

"Yeah," I sighed, glancing back down at my phone, my fingers nervously tapping the side. "Break a leg tonight!"

"You too!" Jane waved, and walked over to the others as my phone buzzed. I quickly answered after seeing my Dad's caller ID.

"Hey guys! Where are you? You forgot to text me! But that's okay. Are you here? It's about to start-"

"Circuit, something came up. We're not going to make it tonight. You know how these things are." My mom's voice was very tense on the other end of the line.

"Oh… yeah, okay," I sighed.

"We'll make it tomorrow night though." My dad chimed in.

"Yeah, that's fine," I waved him off. "Do you need me? Is it serious? Is… is everything going to be okay?"

"Everyone should be fine," He reassured me.

"Okay, just… be careful."

"Promise. We'll be back before midnight."

"Break a leg honey!" My Mom's voice was now noticeably rushed.

"Dance your heart out!"

"Will do," I tried to smile.

"See you tonight."

"Bye."

I hung up, and placed the phone down, content with my answer. It wasn't the first opening night they had missed. It wasn't really that big a deal, but it still hurt, in that strange painful way that only meaningless nothings can hurt you and slowly sink your soul.

But, you know how it is. The show must go on and all that. My ballet studio was putting on The Nutcracker, because it was Christmas, so of course they were. I had been given the role of a snowflake. It was fun and graceful and everything else you'd expect the Waltz of the Snowflakes to be. The costumes we had been given that year were a little a-typical. They were more flowing and loose to depict more the wind and flurries than any individual flakes. Which seems counter-intuitive to me, but who am I to judge?

The performance went as smoothly as it realistically could have. Once again the group performed their pique turns one 16th count off beat, so I adjusted to match them, but it still frustrated me. Aside from that, our unity aspect seemed higher than average.

Dance is so strange. Everything about it is so human in nature and yet so much of it is broken down in mechanical terms. It's magical. When my processors can work with my body to add precision, and my heart is allowed to add passion into it, everything comes together to make me feel… real. If only for a moment. Like who I am and what I do isn't so strange. That there's a place for me.

But of course, Circuit really isn't the one on stage. Sierra is. Sierra is the straight A dancer with the graceful movements, toned skin, and parents that have a very secretive and time intensive government job. Sierra is my visual cloak's name because Circuit is a bit strange for everyday use. It doesn't bother me too much. I don't make a real distinction between the two. Circuit is just a little more word specific, and Sierra has to play dumb a little more often.

But Sierra has fun on the stage. Especially tonight. The best part of any show is the end bows. The applause, the lights, the noise, the music. It all comes together to fill you with energy. Although this time I couldn't help but look out into the darkness of the crowd and think that none of the applause was specifically for me. Not this time anyway.

After the show, everyone goes out into the audience to greet their families. Today I just went out to congratulate my friends on a good show. I tapped Jane on the shoulder. As she turned around, her face lit up and she wrapped an arm around me, her other holding her bouquet of flowers now squished between us.

"Great show tonight!" She squealed.

"You did amazing!" I told her, letting go. "Your arabesque in the center gave me chills tonight!"

"I know! With all the lights and music! And It all came together! Everyone did so well!"

"Hey Sierra!" I heard a familiar voice from behind as a smile spread across my face.

"Daniel!" I turned around to see him making his way across the crowded aisles. Daniel always made me smile. I'd known him for practically my whole life. He had deep red hair the sat in long bangs cutting in between his dark brown eyes and sticking up a bit in the back. He was one of my only normal friends in a life filled with powers, responsibility, and the ever present threat of danger. And sure, maybe those followed him too but… he didn't know that. Not yet anyway. I moved towards him, briefly embracing him. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were coming tomorrow night!"

"I am," I shrugged. "But your dad called and asked if I could pick you up after the show. I figured I'd just come and watch it tonight too. Here," He handed a single pink rose, a little browned at the edges. "I didn't have time to pick up flowers, but I found this on the floor, and I figured I'd treat you to some all you can eat leftovers at my place?"

"Why thank you!" I curtsied and chuckled, accepting the flower.

"Also… maybe you could help me with the calculus review?"

"You haven't finished the review? The test's tomorrow!" I playfully hit him in the shoulder.

"That's why I need your help!" he laughed.

"it's senior year. You really need to get your act together."

"I know, aren't I such a lovable scamp who totally deserves your help?" he looked at me with cartoonishly pleading eyes.

"Of course," I smiled. "Leftover Mr. Chen's is always worth it."

"You did really good by the way! I'm not going to pretend I could always tell which blonde snowflake was you from way back here, but I think I had the right one most of the time!" We both laughed, looking out at the stage.

"Thanks. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Well, I can pull my car around front while you get your stuff, and then we can get out of here. It's pretty packed."

"Sounds good!" He started to move as an impulse in me stopped him. "Hey, thanks again for coming. It really means a lot."

He turned back, a concerned smile on his face. "Well, I felt bad about you not having anyone to watch. Your parents are always having to work late and everything, I can't even imagine. It must suck."

"Yeah…" I sighed.

"Plus, I wasn't even doing anything anyway," he shrugged. "It's really not that big a deal," he smiled nervously, shoving his hands into his pockets as we both glanced around the room for an awkward moment. "So, I'll get the car-"

"Yeah."


	2. Chapter 2

I sat in a booth across from Daniel, staring down at his papers while sampling another bowl of 'the best noodles in Ninjago'. They certainly were the best I had ever tried, even if they weren't super fresh.

"So, would the integral just be e to the negative x because it doesn't change?"

"Well," I leaned over to get a better look at the problem. "You have to move the negative sign down to the e too. It's reverse power rule."

He sighed. "Right, right. How do you remember all this stuff? It's so complicated!"

I smiled knowingly and shrugged. "I guess I've just got a mind like a steel trap."

"Don't help me on this next one, okay? I think I've got it this time."

I watched his paper as he began the next problem, my mind beginning to wander.

"So, are you joining the deck crew for musical this year?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It seems really stressful. Moving stuff around on stage, keeping track of a ton of props. Plus, I'm already on build crew, and-"

"Yeah, but build is done like 2 or 3 weeks before show! They don't get to be backstage." I argued. I auditioned for the musical every year. I'm a good dancer, decent singer, and not much of an actor. Perfect for ensemble roles.

"No," he laughed. "We get to watch the show which, in my opinion, is much more fun."

"I could really use a friend to eat dinner with during show week."

"I don't… really belong on stage." He shook his head. "Plus, then I'd miss out on watching you. You're always great up there. Like you're made for it."

I smiled. Made for it huh? "Well, I think you'd have fun."

He paused, putting down his pencil to look up at me. "…I'll think about it." He smirked.

I lowered my eyes nonchalantly, bringing another fork full of noodles to my mouth. "And you'd probably be a lot better at it than calculus."

"Screw you," He rolled his eyes as I chuckled, his mom walking in as we laughed.

"How are you kids doing out here?" Skylor leaned on the edge of our table, clearing some wisps of hair from her face. "Made any progress with him yet?" she asked me.

"I think he'll be fine," I assured her.

"Was dad going to be home tonight?" Daniel asked, still looking at his problem.

"Late. I want you asleep when he gets back." She insisted.

"Cool," Daniel sighed.

"What… is it that Mr. Smith does again?" I glanced a Skylor.

"Well, he's a night guard. He's out at night a lot, sometimes he gets called to cover a day shift, and his hours are all over the place," she winked at me.

"Right. That makes sense," I nodded.

"Do I… need to take you home?" Skylor asked.

I glanced down at my phone. There were no new messages from either of my parents, or anyone on the team for that matter. Only the usual 30 messages from Jenna telling me how chaotic it was on the Bounty without all the parents, and how much she missed me, and a couple of cute koala pictures that I 'needed to see' despite my database being sure she had already sent me at least 2 of them before. Jenna was the master of lightning in training, and it showed… painfully sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love her like all of the cousins, but there's a reason I've turned off notifications for any group chat she's in.

"Yeah, I guess so." I sighed, starting to pick up my things. "Do you need any help cleaning up before I leave?"

"I can take care of that," She waved it off.

"I can drive Sierra home if you want," Daniel offered.

"You're finishing your review." His mom tapped his paper, still 10 questions from being completed.

"You're so right mother. Leaving for a fifteen minute break would hinder my progress exponentially!" Daniel straightened up, looking overly lovingly into his mother's eyes.

"And this is why you're my favorite child," She ruffled his hair mockingly in return.

"Gee thanks." Daniel rolled his eyes, returning to his paper.

"You ready to go sweetie?"

I picked up my things from the booth and stood. "I think so."

"You want me to carry one of those?" Skylor asked, looking at my assortment of different bags.

"No, I've got it," I assured her. I glanced back at Daniel to say goodbye. "See you tomorrow!" I stopped short, leaning over him momentarily. "And that's going to be over 2."

He let out a giddy moan before starting to erase the problem. "You're right! You're so right! See you then!"

—

The car was rather silent on the ride up. Ninjago City at night was filled with too many bright lights to think straight. The ride to the dock wasn't long. Infact, the ride anywhere in the city wasn't long. It seemed as if everything was about 10 minutes away. The school, the library, the nearest grocery store. And yet 10 minutes was still somehow too long to fill for us.

"So, how's your mom? I haven't talked to her much recently. I heard from Kai that she's thinking of taking you to the cave sometime soon?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "For my eighteenth she's going to take me down there with Nya and Jenna and we'll have a girls' weekend."

"Sounds fun." Skylor sighed. "Not much has changed with us. I've been teaching Daniel to cook, and Kai's been teaching him metal work, and he's been wood carving in his own time. Not to mention trying to keep up with classes. That kid does so much."

"…yeah," I sighed. But there's a lot more he could be doing.

The car stopped, the Bounty sitting just behind the windshield now.

"I'll come in with you. They should be back soon, right?"

"Yeah, hopefully."

I swung the car door open, pushing myself to my feet, and grabbing my bags out of the back. Skylor locked the car as we headed down the long dock towards the ship. I pulled out my phone and texted Jenna about our arrival. Only a moment later, her silhouette appeared in the glowing light of the entrance.

"Skylor! It's so good to see you!" Her bare feet hurried her across the dock to hug us.

"Always good to see you, Jenna."

"So how was the show?" She took a bag from my hands as we continued towards the ship again. "I'm sure you did great! You always do. It's been chaos back here though! You know how the littles get when their parents leave. But I think we've got it under control. I got all my brothers in their rooms, and Carter took care of his sister and… the twins." We squeezed through the doorway, dropping my things on the floor as we entered. "And then passed out on the couch." She pointed to him, lying noiselessly in the corner under a blanket. "So, keep your voices down if you can."

"He's a heavy sleeper," a voice came from over in the kitchen. I turned around to see Cryptor sitting at the empty dining table with a plate of food.

"Hey Uncle Cryptor!" I waved and moved over to sit with him. "Are those… hash browns?" I asked, sitting down.

"I was craving hash browns," he shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"Nice to see you again, Cryptor." Skylor walked over, leaning on the back of a chair.

"What's fire girl doing here?" Cryptor glanced at me.

"I was at Daniel's for a study session. Mrs. Smith drove me home." My tone urged him not to make a big deal of it, but those were slim chances to begin with.

"Right, you're still lying to your child, I forgot about that." He stood up, picking up his plate and moving into the kitchen.

Skylor sighed, following him. "We've been through this. Daniel isn't like the rest of you, he has the potential to be the most powerful being in Ninjago-"

"Oh yeah!" Cryptor crashed his plate into the sink. "And no one here would know anything about what it's like to hold the fate of Ninjago at their fingertips."

"You don't know know what it's like!"

"Oh don't I?"

"I have to live with it every day! It's unbearable! That amount of power is too strong to control!"

"Or maybe you just aren't strong enough to control it."

Skylor stopped, her silence hanging everywhere in the room.

"Does that scare you? That your son might be better than you? Is that why you lie to him? Let him live in his little fantasy realm? Just to hold him back his whole life?"

"Shut the hell up."

"Guys," Jenna interrupted, looking out the window. "Their back, and it doesn't look good."

I jumped up, opening the door for the incoming team, several tired bodies flooding through the door. But there were some noticeably missing.

"Jay, where's my sister?" Cryptor asked.

Jay glanced back outside, looking for someone. "It's not her I'd be worried about."


	3. Chapter 3

My father's mangled, twitching body was hoisted into the house by Cole and Kai, my mother following closely behind, fiddling with her shoulder as she walked.

"We need to get his power core under control before it fries his whole system, and we have a heck of a lot more to fix."

I pushed my way past the bodies filling the room, trying to get a better look at what had happened to my dad.

"Pix, are you okay?" Cryptor asked.

"I'm fine. Right now we need to fix Zane. Then we can worry about me."

"Mom?"

She looked over at me, her expression fading as our eyes met. "Don't worry. It'll be okay."

"Pixal, what are we doing here?" Nya called to her from the dining room, where the table had been hastily cleared to make space for my dad's body. "Outright cutting off his power seems dangerous."

"No, cut the power." My mom instructed them.

"I'm no tech expert, but I'd have to agree with Nya." Cole chimed in. "What effect would that have on his memory?"

"Maybe we could reroute it-" Jay started.

"Just cut it!" She screamed at them. "I think I have a better grasp of my husband's blueprints than you do!" She turned, shoving her way into the dinning room.

I felt my uncle's hand on my shoulder. He could sense the tension I was holding. "Your mom knows what she's doing," he reassured me.

"That's not what I have an issue with." I brushed his hand away as I walked towards the commotion.

"His heart is on the verge of overloading! Do we remember what happened to him the last time that happened?!"

"Would someone just cut it already!" Lloyd screamed over the commotion.

I arrived at the front of the bunch just in time to see Kai cut the central power wire, and my father's body go limp. It was the first time I got to get a good look at him. His torso was stretched and broken, a tangle of wires being the only thing connecting the two pieces together. His exterior was covered in horrific, deep, twisted dents disfiguring his whole appearance. The room went silent as everyone stood- staring at his disjointed, unnatural, unflinching corpse.

"'Everything should be fine', huh?" I sighed. "'Back before midnight- you know how these things are' did you mean to lie to me, or is_ this_ just supposed to be fine?" I looked over at my mom.

"Circuit, this isn't-"

"We thought this was a low level threat." Lloyd cut her off, looking at me. "We were wrong."

I looked back at him. Was he the only one who was going to be straight with me on this? "You know, if you need help, maybe you should tell me,"

"Circuit-"

"Maybe you should let me train! Maybe we could use another ice master on the field! Maybe I could reach my true potential if you'd just-!"

"Circuit, we are not having this discussion right now!" My mom stopped me. "You know how your father feels about your training."

"What? That I'm not ready! And what? Am I going to be more ready if I just sit around for a few more years?!"

"You just need to get through this stage in your life before you can understand-"

"Understand? You think I don't _understand_ when you come home with my dad beaten to shreds, barely even functional?! You think I don't _understand_? I see it every other week!"

"You think I don't know that?!" My mom screamed back, starting to shake. "Do you know how he got that way? Do you know what they did to him to get him like this?!"

"Pixal," Cole placed a hand on her arm as she hung her head, taking a few deep breaths. She placed her hand on top of his, closing her eyes.

"We need to get working on him," she sighed. "I'll need Jay and Nya working with me and Kai on standby."

Everyone else began shuffling out of the room as I stood there, waiting for a response.

…But I didn't get one.

I finally turned around, following the rest of the group out as I headed for my room. I closed the door, and curled up under a blanket on the corner of my bed, trying to stifle back tears. This was the third time my dad had come back home that broken. At least that I knew of. He has a bad habit of getting himself damaged. And I could help them! I know I could! If they'd just let me!

There was a knock on the door as I looked up. The door cracked open, revealing Jenna on the other side.

"Hey… you need a friend?"

I looked at her for a moment before nodding. She snuck in, closing the door to the chaos still lingering outside, and curling up on the bed next to me.

"You know, powers aren't all they're worked up to be. I mean, they rarely even let me go on missions, and I've had mine for years now."

She waited a moment for me to respond.

I couldn't.

She formed a little ball of energy between her hands, the glow illuminating the room in a soft glow as I smiled. Something about the way the lightning twitched around and snapped in and out of existence was just so captivating.

"You know, I'm upset about the training and all, but… there's part of me that wishes I could get rid of it all together."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean drop this half of my life and be Sierra full time. Just go to school. Be a normal person. Talk with my friends. But I can't! I'll never be able to! I can't just be a normal high schooler because I have to put on a hologram to even walk down the halls! No matter what I do I can't win!"

Jenna's ball of energy faded, leaving the room in relative darkness. "So… you want to be like Daniel?"

I pulled my blanket tighter around myself. "…maybe."

"Aren't you the one telling me all the time about how what his parents are doing to him is wrong?"

"It is! Long term, it's terrible! It's terrible for him, and it's _painful_ for me." His parents had convinced my parents to have me go to school with him. Just to keep tabs on him and be there if he ever discovered his powers. It was a job, but it was also my social life. It was this strange situation built on a lie but surrounded in this genuine relationship. There was always this distance I had to keep, and it was a nightmare. "I have to lie to him _every day_. And I know that someday we'll have to tell him and… and when we do, what is he going to think of me? Is he going to think that I was a lie too? That our friendship was a lie? Just look at me! Things are just going to get so weird between us and-" I sighed.

"What?"

"I just don't want to think about it."

Jenna thought for a moment. "I can't tell you things aren't going to get weird between you guys when the day finally comes, but… they aren't weird yet." She stood up, looking at me. "And I'm sure he'd be willing to not think about it with you," Jenna winked, and left, leaving me to an empty room.

I pulled out my phone, scrolling through my contacts before landing on his number. I cleared a few stray tears before dialing, trying to get some sense of composure.

The phone rang.

And rang.

My heart sunk a bit, waiting for him.

I was _just_ at his house.

He probably doesn't want to talk to me…

But then he picked up.

"Hey! What's up?" his voice came from the other end of the line.

I smiled. "Before I talk, are you finished with your review?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I'm done with it. And also, I've been giving some thought to the whole deck crew thing and… I think I'm gonna apply."

"Really?"

"Now, they might not choose me, so there's no guarantee, but I figured it's worth a shot."

"I'm so proud of you, that's awesome!"

"Thanks," I could hear his nervous smile through the phone. "Sorry, I got you off topic. What did you call about?"

"It's kind of hard to explain." I sighed. "Just… talk to me."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey! This is Daniel. You know what to do after the beep."

I sighed. It's fine. Infact, maybe it's better this way.

"Hey, it's Sierra. I've got a doctors appointment today, so I won't be seeing you in English. But I'll be back later, so we can still walk home together. I, um… I'll see you then." I hung up as I walked through the doors of the building, swinging my backpack around to drop my phone in the side pocket.

"Circuit?"

My head shot up to find a familiar face I wasn't expecting to run into. Drew had worked here since the beginning of time as far as I knew. Helped build me actually. She's my grandpa's right hand woman, started out as his personal assistant, but has since risen to be head of company communications.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Technically droids aren't allowed to enroll in public school to begin with," I shrugged.

Drew rolled her eyes, grabbing my arm and tugging me to the side. "Look, the tower isn't a hang out, it's a workplace."

"I just want to talk to my grandpa," I pleaded. "Maybe you could hook me up with an elevator?"

"Does this have to do with why your uncle hasn't come in today?" She crossed her arms.

"We… had a bit of a family emergency last night with my dad," I explained. "Cryptor volunteered to look after him while the team went to try and figure out what happened. It's weird that he didn't tell you. I figured he would have called you about it by now."

Drew's eyes grew distant as she thought. "Cry and I… aren't on the best terms right now." Her expression had sunken from anger into melancholy in a matter seconds. "It's complicated. Look, let's just get you to the top floor, huh?"

"Thank you!" I smiled, following her as she led the way to the elevator. She swiped her id card on the left before pressing the call button. It arrived only a moment later as we both boarded.

"I've got some time sensitive stuff going, so I'm getting off on the 83rd floor, but I trust you can ride to the top by yourself."

"I'm not 7 anymore, I think I'll be alright." I ran my fingers along my backpack straps. The elevator rides are always the most awkward part of any trip to Borg Tower. No matter how fast it is, a hundred floors is quite a height to cover.

"Is your dad… doing alright?"

"He's recovering pretty quickly," I sighed.

"Still, I know how scary that kind of stuff can be."

She turned towards me, sharing a kind look for the first time since I had gotten here.

"Try not to let it get to you too much. I'm sure he'll be alright,"

The doors opened, Drew stepping out before I could respond.

"Hey, thanks!"

She spun around, sending me a quick smile before the doors closed again. Drew was a strange person. I always got the sense that she had way too much stress on her shoulders. I imagine working in one of the most targeted and at risk locations in Ninjago for over a decade can do a few things to your head. Let's just say… she's been through a lot. I've always wondered what she's like once you get to know her. A lot of people seem to like her quite a bit. There has to be a reason my grandpa has kept her around all these years, right?

The elevator doors opened once again as I reached grandpa Borg's office, and I cautiously stepped into the room.

"Whose that?" He asked from his computer at the other end of the room.

"It's Circuit," I announced, walking over to him.

"Circuit!" he turned around to see me as I swung off my backpack, placing it on the floor next to his desk. "How are you, sweetie? I've missed you! You really should visit more often."

I leaned over to hug him, a warmth filling my body as I spoke with him. "You're not mad that I'm ditching school then?"

He rolled his eyes. "You and I both know you don't need that place." He smiled, both of us laughing a bit. "I heard about your father…" His expression faded. "Is that why you're here?"

I was caught a bit off guard. My head just sunk as I thought. "I don't really know why I'm here to be honest. Just… needed to get away"

He studied my face for a moment, a gentle smile spreading across his complexion. "Your father has faced some rather intense consequences during his time as a ninja." He bagan wheeling himself over to the window. "He's been through much worse than even you've ever seen."

"I know," I sighed.

"He's lost a lot over the years, and he doesn't want to risk adding you to that list." he paused for a moment, turning back around to read me. "I'm sure he'll begin training you once things are safer. He doesn't want to push you into the field before you're ready."

Grandpa could always tell what was bothering me. I guess it makes sense, he did a lot of my programming. "I get it," I repeated, plopping down on one of the waiting chairs. "I really do get it. It's better for the team if I wait. In the back of my mind, I know it'll probably even be better for me in the long run. It just… gets hard to wait sometimes."

"Time can be a difficult foe to face," he agreed.

"I've just felt so… restricted lately, you know? I can't go on missions, I can't start training, I can't help mom, I can't talk to Daniel, I can't-"

"What's this about Daniel?" he moved closer.

"It's not that I can't," I corrected myself. "But I can't talk to him how I want to, you know? I'm mean, I've never really been able to, but it's catching up to me now, and… It's just, it's the end of senior year, and everything feels so final, but the only thing that isn't going to end is this whole… lie that I'm living! I mean he's my best friend, I've known him for years, and he still doesn't even know my name." I could feel my eyes beginning to water as I spoke. "It's stuff like that. It hurts. And I don't think anyone else realizes it. And Daniel is a great guy! He deserves so much better than what his parents are giving him! It's like they don't trust him! It's not fair for them to try and hide his potential from him like this!"

"...Did they ever tell you why they were having you monitor Daniel?" his hand on mine snapped me out of my daze as I quickly cleared the water from my eyes.

"Well… yeah, they wanted him to have a normal life before getting dragged into all this elemental stuff. They're worried he won't be ready for his power if he ends up inheriting his mother's."

A sad smile crept onto his lips as he watched me explain. "There's a bit more to it than that."

"What… what else? Why would they not tell me if there was something else?"

He started rolling over to his computer screen, his movement beckoning me to follow. "It was… a few months after the both of you were born that I started doing some research and tests to try and better understand the different elemental powers. I was sure that if I studied them, I would find information to help their holders utilize them better." He pulled up a screen filled with rows of complex data all arranged by element. "We found quite a bit. Strong bonds between certain elements, keys to the elements' lineages, and qualities specific to the creation elements. Now, when elements are passed to a future holder after reaching their true potential, there's at least a brief period where the previous holder retains their powers as well, and the element is split between them. My prevailing theory is that the elements do this in order to allow a training period for the older generation to assist the newer one. Of course, none of this applies if the previous holder dies before the next one reaches their true potential." I already knew most of this, but I could feel the tension in his voice as he continued.

"Now, amber is by far the most powerful element. Strangely enough though, in all my research, I haven't been able to find a record of it having a training period. It's users consistently die before they can see their power passed on. Additionally, because amber's power comes from combining the energy of other elements, it is structurally much different than the rest. It is extremely dense and concentrated. It's strength comes from entirely existing within one location. And it's because of these unique qualities that my simulations for a potential amber training period find that it doesn't... function properly." As he scrolled through the data for amber the numbers grew exponentially bigger, highlighted in red. "Because the element demands to exist in only one place, attempting to split it for a training period would have one of two outcomes; it either destroys the element… or it destroys it's users."

I looked at the data, his words ringing through my brain. "...meaning-"

"Meaning over the course of about a month, the element actively corrodes, poisons, and corrupts the bodies of one or both of it's users…

_...to the point of death."_


End file.
